leechaorui

Hi Gatecrasher, You may need to make structural alterations since you plan to shift the toilets. As you shift the positioning of the toilets, the PE will need to calculate the weight of the load redistribution. $10K for engaging the architect is quite a reasonable price. If you wish to seek another architect's views, I can share my architect's contact with you. PM me if you need.

Very nice 3D diagrams. I am very impressed.

Congras on your coming reno journey. Do you have the floor plan?

Hi Airman, a) I think whether worth it to spend the $1.5 million to build a pair of semi detached houses is dependent on the returns you can get from this investment. It depends on interests rate, rental yield (if you plan to rent instead of sell), etc.. If you plan to sell, it will have to take into account your purchase price, interest, returns expected, cost of construction & fees payable to the authorities which will include development charge and the price that you can possibly sell the semi detached. b) There is no certainty in getting lease top up. You will need to top up the lease by another 32 years. I think you can check with URA for the formula of your specific location through making an appointment with the officer in charge. c) Depends on (a) and (b) above.

My friend sold his place through an agent that charge her 0.7%. Transaction was smooth and she sold her flat for a fairly good price and the entire sale was very transparent. Commission is negotiable between owner and agent. Owner has to give agent a chance to make a fair return and agents need to charge competitive comm to get the business.

Agree with you that it is not ethical for agents to refuse co-broking. They are doing a dis-service to the client that they represent.

Will probably need to purchase the items for the house when my house renovation has been completed. It is still some months away from completion. Not sure what to buy and what specifications should I look for. Will check with you later.

Your place looks big. The study room is the size of the bedroom. Will you have 3D pictures?

Agree with you in terms of paying for all purchases by cash instead of instalment. I bought a King Size wooden bed (quite solid) for $350 with installation at Harvey Norman Warehouse sale recently, mattress not included. I am following your thread closely and probably will go to Courts to shop for items when my house is ready.

Envy all of you, design, start reno and end very fast. Hope all the reno swee swee for your new home.

To construct a wall, you will not only need cement, sand and bricks. You will also need wire gauze to lay in between bricks. Besides that, you will need to plaster the wall after you have constructed. I think it is better to leave it to the specialist.

Welcome to T/blog. Any floorplan to show.

Look forward to see your floor plan and reno. Cheers!

Welcome to Hougang. I am staying in Kovan, quite near to your place. Good to see your reno work and best wishes to a smooth reno journey. Enjoy while you are renovating the house. There are lots of helpful and knowledgable people here who can provide good advice.

I have not used them before. You can ask the contractor for a few references of their past projects to check.

Hi all, It is unfortunate that the happy intent to renovate ended up with both parties being adversarial to each other. I think it is inevitable that we sometimes have friction with one another in the course of our work and if we can assume that all are reasonable people, I would like to propose the following: 1. Fencer and Henry speak through a rep (can be a forumer that knows both parties and are willing to help) about the defects and each other side of the story purely from the basis of resolving the impasses rather than assigning blame. Each party giving way to one another is important eg. instead of insisting on 10% payment after solving the defects, Fencer could pay 5% upfront and pay final 5% when the works are completed. 2. The rep gets back to the Fencer and Henry and conveyed what is needed to be done. eg. cut a small hole to drain out water in the alum window frame, etc.. If both parties accept the solution, we have a closure and everyone moves on. There will be no need to spend money to hire lawyers and attend court hearings when the issues could be resolved out of court. Whoever is right is immaterial because both parties lose and lose tremendously when the case is battled in court. If what I suggest don't make sense, feel free to ignore it.

How much is needed depends on a number of factors such as: 1. No. of dependents and their needs. People are marrying late and having children even later. Hence, at 62, people may still have school going children. 2. State of health. If a person is healthy, his/ her needs are lesser in terms of medical care. 3. Definition of retirement. If a person is able to engage in some form of own business or part time work, the regular stream of income will lessen the financial need to dip into his reserves. This would provide for the "retiree". 4. Amount of dividends/ rental income/ investment income. If a person has more passive income, there would be less need to dip into his reserve. 5. Quality of life. If a person wish to enjoy retirement by spending more freely, he would need more. 6. Liabilities. If a person is free from liability, he would need less as there is no need to service loan. A retiree who has a fully paid house, a seizable CPF savings, a new car for personal transport, multiple sources of investment income (dividends, interests, etc.) and children who are supporting him will need to dip less from his reserve. There are more factors and the needs of individuals differ. I think for the lay person without liabilitie, with a house fully paid and a healthy body, I think an income of about $2500 per month at today's prices will be quite comfortable.

I agree that Toa Payoh is more popular. During weekend, customers have to queue up to enjoy a meal with their families.

You can try contacting Kelvin. He is recommended by some forumers and is an engineer by training. Hence, he has better technical knowledge on building wardrobe that is more durable. You can contact him at 98758882.

I think it is not about taking action against housing agents. I see the statutory board as a body to regulate housing agency and agents in order to improve the professionalism and upgrade the image of the industry. I think this is a positive development for the agents and the consumers. Cheers!

I think it is worthwhile to explore refinancing. You can get the mortgage broker to help you do the sums and explain to you whether it is worthwhile to do refinancing. If you need to find a broker, I can intro my broker to you. The broker don't charge you any fees and he earns his income from a commission that is paid by the bank. You get the service but don't pay him any fees. Cheers!

When I bought my HDB flat, the seller also owe loansharks and banks lots of money. Notices were pasted on my door and loanshark came to ask for payment. After I told them that I am the new owner and the seller has left the place, they basically did not bother me anymore. I think it is useful to inform the loansharks that you are the new owner and they should find the seller rather than bother you.

Planning is very important in renovation. I am not good in planning and I think a lot of review on the planning and thinking is needed before you finalized the design. Would you be able to share your family size and how and why did you decide on the design? Hope to learn from you. Cheers!

I think your reno project will be interesting as you will not be using ID to design and manage the works.

Very nice reno. I think your place will look very beautiful when completed. Cheers!